And now, I have to confess to what appears to be the very worst thing a FS fan can feel; worse even than not really thinking Kwan was that great. Maybe because I didn't see it in real time... I never liked T&D's Bolero that much. There, I've said it! Now I will run and hide .

This is so funny! Bolero's not my favorite piece of music by a long shot, but that dance, in that year, in the context of what ice dance was at the time, was truly revolutionary. Until T&D, free dance programs as a rule were a grab-bag of unrelated pieces of music chosen to show versatility. Torvill and Dean's programs for the 2 years preceding the Olympics featured music in a variety of styles that all came from the same Broadway/West End score (Mack and Mabel one year, and Barnum the next). Their programs captured a mood or told a story. With Bolero, they were really innovating, pushing at the rules and the limits of the sport. The dance was pretty mesmerizing at the time--and very original.

My very favorite thing that T&D ever did, I think, was in a short film shown as a public television special, with Yo Yo Ma playing one of Bach's unaccompanied cello sonatas. One of the movements is on YouTube (starts with "Bach" recounting a tragic event from his life):

This is so funny! Bolero's not my favorite piece of music by a long shot, but that dance, in that year, in the context of what ice dance was at the time, was truly revolutionary. Until T&D, free dance programs as a rule were a grab-bag of unrelated pieces of music chosen to show versatility. Torvill and Dean's programs for the 2 years preceding the Olympics featured music in a variety of styles that all came from the same Broadway/West End score (Mack and Mabel one year, and Barnum the next). Their programs captured a mood or told a story. With Bolero, they were really innovating, pushing at the rules and the limits of the sport. The dance was pretty mesmerizing at the time--and very original.

Thanks for such an informative post.
I have heard similar "what was so special about her" remarks refering to Janet Lynn. But to appreciate Janet or T & D one has to be familiar with the skating of their era and not just from the last 5-10 years.
It is important to acknowledge the skaters who brought about change to figure skating through their artistry and innovation. Their influence is still felt today and any newer skating fan could enrich their appreciation of figure skating by taking a little time to become more familiar with some of the skating legends of the past.

I've started watching the ice dance videos, and I gotta say, they look fun. Might as well start with the most definitive program of them all (or so I've heard) Torvill and Dean's Bolero. Pretty cool moves, which I think (although Im not sure) would still be pretty cool if performed today.

Although what really caught my attention was the anissina/peizarat R&J program. So fast and seamless. I loved it.

Aesthetically, I'm starting to get ice dancing. For me, its beginning to feel like the very thing I can't do in ballet - freedom in movement where you almost float on your feet without ever stopping.

I think what I meant about not knowing what to watch for in ice dance is that I don't know how to judge a program's difficulty without the jumps and the throws.

I have heard similar "what was so special about her" remarks refering to Janet Lynn. But to appreciate Janet or T & D one has to be familiar with the skating of their era and not just from the last 5-10 years.

Actually, as I was writing my "I don't like Bolero" post, I was thinking that I had the opposite reaction to Janet Lynn. It was a different era of figure skating, but the programs she skated remain beautiful and engaging, and her skating is still wonderful to watch. A shame she competed under a system in which figures counted for so much.

Actually, in many languages it's called either ice skating or artistic skating (e.g. patinage artistique in French). Janet's performances were certainly artistic, and not in the voidy sense of the word.

As for the figures - yes or no question, they were gone by the time I started watching. Maybe it would be better to bring those back, at least for younger skaters, but not to have a situation in which a skater builds up an insurmountable lead in the figures, like Trixie Schuba usually had (and deservedly so).

it was a skill and a showcase of control on the blade. I think it's extremely important, and I am not a figure skater...

I have never seen or read Janet Lynn's recent address to US Skating - but I believe she surprised many with the views she expressed.
I think Janet came out very strongly in support of school figures amongst other somewhat surprising views about the state of US Skating - and skating in general. I think mathman knows about this and I would appreciate any views he or others would care to share about Janet's speech.

I have never seen or read Janet Lynn's recent address to US Skating - but I believe she surprised many with the views she expressed.
I think Janet came out very strongly in support of school figures amongst other somewhat surprising views about the state of US Skating - and skating in general. I think mathman knows about this and I would appreciate any views he or others would care to share about Janet's speech.

The first link should work without having to register or log in. Main page->Famous skaters->Janet Lynn's speech (the thread with the paper clip)->full transcript.

However, I think you need one of the newer vesions of Acrobat Reader to open it (I can open it on my new computer but not on my old).

IIRC this speech was given at the skaters' banquet at the annual meeting of the USFSA, and it ruffled some feathers. These banquets are feel-good affairs where speakers are expected to get up and say how wonderful the sport of figure skating is and what awesome people we all are.

Instead, Ms. Lynn basically said that compared with the quality of skating in her day, what skaters are putting out there now is crap. This was not well received by the audience, who, after all, comprised the very skaters that were being so severely critiqued.

When asked later to clarify her remarks, she committed another public relations faux pas by refusing to allow the transcript of her speech to be published by the USFSA. Instead, you could contact Ms. Lynn by email and, for a fee, she would send it to you (and by the way, do you want to buy some of my other self-published essays?).

So it took a little while before everyone settled down to actually read what she said in an objective way.